Guest commentary: SCCF provides Week 1 legislative update
The 2026 Florida legislative session began on Jan. 13, with Gov. Ron DeSantis presenting his State of the State address to spotlight his priorities for the upcoming session. He spoke about property tax relief, and emphasized education and transportation spending and continued debt reduction.
Introduced on Dec. 10, the governor’s proposed $117.4 billion Floridians First Budget included priorities like $681 million for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, $80 million for Visit Florida, a 2% pay increase for all state employees, and a 5% pay increase for law enforcement, Florida park rangers, judges and IT professionals, along with the elimination of 354 state positions.
SPECIFIC GUBERNATORIAL ENVIRONMENTAL SPENDING PROPOSALS
– $810 million for Everglades restoration
– $115 million for the Florida Forever Land Acquisition program
– $200 million for the Florida Rural and Family Lands Protection program (farmland conservation easements)
– $50 million for reductions in harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers
UPDATE ON BILLS FILED BY LEGISLATORS
Legislators have been busy filing legislation and holding pre-legislative committee meetings, mostly to receive presentations on state agency budgets. As of Jan. 16, the House had filed more bills than last year with 1,200 total filed, while the Senate had presented fewer than last year, having filed 898 bills.
Typically, bills heard early in the session are leadership priorities and are likely to pass. The following bills that passed out of committee last week follow this pattern:
– Water quality, Everglades restoration
Land and Water Management — HB 479 — passed by a vote of 11-5 out of its first of three committees, the House Natural Resources and Disasters Committee. The bill started out as one of the worst bills of the session, prohibiting local governments from adopting any laws relating to water quality and pollution control. The bill was amended to only prohibit adding more to wetland buffer zones than what the state requires, which is still a damaging preemption action as several counties require larger wetland buffer zones to help address pollution from stormwater runoff. The Senate companion bill, SB 718, had not yet been heard in its first committee of reference as of Jan. 16.
– Growth management
Blue Ribbon Projects — SB 354 — fast tracks large-scale developments on more than 10,000 acres with only administrative approval and no allowance for public input, as long as the development meets certain parameters, including a set-aside for open space. The bill passed 7-1 in the Senate Community Affairs Committee last week and was met by concerned discussion from both legislators and the public.
The bill sponsor promised to work on the bill as it advances, which is a tactic to advance bad bills without the guarantee that they will be amended before they pass. The House version, HB 299, passed 12-2 in its first pre-session committee of the House Intergovernmental Affairs Sub-committee.
Land Use Regulations for Local Governments Affected by Natural Disasters — SB 840 — is the “fix” bill to last year’s very harmful SB 180 preemption bill, which essentially prohibited any changes to local land use laws after a hurricane that could be considered more strict or burdensome for developers. SB 840 passed 8-0 out of the Community Affairs Committee and was scheduled for Jan. 20 in the Senate Judiciary.
While SB 840 is a substantial improvement to 2025’s SB 180, it does not fix every bad element of SB 180, including addressing retroactive impacts, as well as its preemption of voter-approved land use changes. The House version, HB 1465, had not yet been assigned to its first committee agenda as of Jan. 16.
Check out our 2026 Legislative Tracker at https://sccf.org/what-we-do/2026-legislative-session/ to see a table of the bills that the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) is following, updated daily during session.
Holly Schwartz is policy associate for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). Founded in 1967, the SCCF’s mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems. For more information, visit sccf.org.